When the second season begins, we begin things from Noah’s (Dominic West) perspective. It appears he is driving erratically down a dark road, when he sees a figure in the roadway. He hits the breaks and awakes from his nightmare. We see that Noah has moved out of his house and is now living on the river. He heads into the city and meets with his publicist, Harry (Stephen Kunken). Harry is unimpressed with Noah’s work on the book and insists he needs to put the murder back into the arrangement.

After he leaves, Noah runs into an old friend, Geordie (Albert Jones). Geordie insists they need to get together for dinner, before Noah departs. He heads to his old house and meets up with two movers. He tells them to wait outside, while he goes in and collects his belongings. Inside, he encounters Helen’s mother, Margaret (Kathleen Chalfant). Margaret tells Noah that he can find his belongings in the basement. He discovers a small box full of minute items and takes them outside to the moving van. He grows angry, rushes back in and begins collecting more stuff.

Noah and Margaret wind up arguing, before Martin (Jake Siciliano) intervenes. Noah learns that Martin has been having stomach problems and Margaret has signed up him to meet with a shrink. The doctor’s appointment knocks Martin out of watching a baseball game with his father. When Noah finally returns back outside with his belongings, he runs into his younger son, Trevor (Jadon Sand). Trevor questions Noah about his breakup with his mother. When Noah tells him that they are indeed getting a divorce, Noah is punched in the nose. With a bloody nose, Noah heads on his way and meets up with Helen (Maura Tierney) and a divorce mediator.

They manage to negotiate through the situation fairly well, before coming to custody issues. Helen insults Noah’s book earnings, before he admits he will be receiving $400,000. Noah argues with Helen over the baseball game, as well. When they head back outside, Helen insists she just wants to get things over with quickly, so they can move on with their lives. Noah encourages Helen to tell Whitney (Julia Goldani Telles) to give him a call. After the conversation, Noah returns home to Alison (Ruth Wilson). He refuses to tell her about his day, but admits it was awful. Both agree they’re happy with their current circumstances.

The pair dance together, before Noah enjoys a beer and a moment of relaxation beside of the river. The dark sky in the background seems very ominous. Then, we flash forward and see that Noah is still in jail. Detective Jeffries (Victor Williams) enters and tells Noah he is worried about his bail hearing. He attempts to convince Noah to take a plea deal, but he refuses and insists he wants a lawyer. Now, it is time for Helen’s story. She has intercourse with Max (Josh Stamberg), before sobbing in the shower. Then, she heads out and gets high on a park bench.

Next, she meets up with the divorce mediator and they wait for Noah, who shows up late. From her point of view, the mediator and Noah team up against her. Her perspective also shows up that Noah wasn’t interested in moving back to the city or custody anytime soon. Afterwards, Helen heads to Stacey’s (Leya Catlett) dance class and overhears a few women talking about Noah’s affair. One of the women catches Helen outside and just manages to worsen the situation.

When she returns home, she finds no comfort. She finds Trevor angry and Margaret has seemingly gotten into an argument with Whitney. Whitney and Margaret picker back and forth over Whitney’s desire to write her essay on the time Cole (Joshua Jackson) put a gun to her head. Afterwards, Helen speaks to her mother and tells she is going to have dinner with the children, before their big event. Her dinner with the children is uneventful. At the classy dinner, the attendee questions Helen about her husband and Helen plays it off well.

Helen joins Max and the others. Max speaks about his admiration for Helen in the past and insists he cannot believe he finally has her now. During the dinner, Max gives Helen some weed for later. After the event, they head to her house and she thanks him for the evening. Then, they make out. Helen heads inside alone and seems very depressed. Afterwards, we flash forward and witness Jon Gottlief (Richard Schiff) and an associate visiting Noah at the jail. One they get inside, we see that the woman is Helen and she has paid for Gottlief to work Noah’s case. They provide him with a suit and tell him to prepare for the arraignment, which is less than 3 hours away.

 

The Affair Review

After a long wait in between the first season and the second, I had completely forgot how great The Affair truly was. The season quickly established its mystery and utilized its double perspective technique to scramble our minds. It is hard to know who to believe and it may not matter anyway. How will things play out and will Alison and Noah’s fantasy remain intact or will it slowly slip into the void? We can only wait and see. This episode deserved an 8 out of 10.

Be sure to catch up with our other The Affair recaps right now!